Music Matters
Can You Hear Two Parts and Write Them Down? - Ear Training
Have you ever had the frustrating experience of hearing a musical idea you want to work with as a player or as a composer but have struggled with being able to write it down? This lesson is an exercise in hearing a two part passage and...
Odd Quartet
Transposing Vocals - MuseScore tutorial
There are many different types of vocal ranges in music and sometimes music is not written in a key that fits into a vocal range very well. One thing we can do to help the vocalist is transpose the music. In this tutorial I will show you...
Music Matters
How the String Quartet Evolved - Music Appreciation
The String Quartet is a Classical Period innovation, developed largely in the hands of Haydn. This music appreciation lesson presents an overview of how the String Quartet evolved and also explores the Baroque background that led to the...
Curated Video
Understanding the Music Staff
This video describes how to identify both pitch and note duration.
Music Matters
Sight Reading Advice & Tips - Music Performance
Get better at sight reading with these expert tips and techniques, suitable for candidates preparing for ABRSM exams. How good are you at Sight Reading? It’s an area that many musicians worry about. In music exams, quite often it turns...
Odd Quartet
How Style and Instrumentation Affect Chord Progressions
Today we will look at a chord progression, but we will look at it in two different ways. First, as an 18th century piano composition. Then, as a 1950s American dance music. The trick is that we will use the same chord progression for...
Two Minute Music Theory
How Do Clefs Work?
What is a clef and how does it work? Why do we need multiple clefs?
Music Matters
Note Reading Puzzles - Music Theory
Can you spell out the words hidden in these music note puzzles? How would you like to improve your note reading skills? This music theory lesson presents a small groups of notes that spell out words. Get better at reading notes on the...
Music Matters
Reading Notes in the Tenor Clef - Music Theory
How good are you at reading notes in the tenor clef? You may play an instrument that never needs to use the tenor clef but you might want to grasp the essentials of reading notes in the tenor clef. You might play with other...
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 7 - The Note B & Musical Phrases
In this video you will learn a new note in the bass clef, B, and get fluent about playing C and B in the left hand. You will also learn about phrases and how they work like musical sentences. The video includes reminders from earlier in...
Music Matters
Reading Treble Clef Ledger Lines - Music Theory
How well do you know your treble clef ledger lines above and below the stave? You may be fairly new to reading music or you may have been a musician for years but many musicians get caught out when it comes to reading notes on ledger...
Music Matters
Spot the Music Notation Mistakes - Music Theory
We explore an extract of music that contains some mistakes with its notation, can you spot them all? This music theory lesson explores some of the most common errors when it comes to notating notes, rhythms, time signatures and other...
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 12 - Five Notes in the Bass Clef & Final Performance
In this video you will learn a new note, F, in the bass clef and will discover how to use all five fingers evenly in the left hand. There is a new piece to learn, which gives you the opportunity to read the notes C, B, A, G and F in the...
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 5 - The Notes C, D & E in Treble Clef
In this video you will learn a new note, E, and there will be reminders about the notes and rhythms discovered earlier in the course, as well as advice on fingering. The video includes new pieces to learn and new duets to play in both...
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 9 - The Note F, Simple Improvisation & Reading Patterns
In this video we return to the treble clef and add a new note, F. There is revision of the treble clef notes covered so far - C, D, E, and now F - alongside further work on reading and counting rhythm, and playing with both a steady...
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 11 - Five Notes in the Treble Clef, Ties & Dynamics
In this video you will learn a new note in the treble clef, G, and learn to use all five fingers in the right hand. There is a new piece to learn using C, D, E, F and G with all fingers on the move and a variety of rhythms. By the end of...
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 6 - Getting Started with the Bass Clef
In this video you will learn about the bass clef. So far in the course the focus has been on playing right hand notes in the treble clef; now the focus moves to the left hand reading in the bass clef. The focus is on Middle C and you...
Music Matters
How to Write Five-Part Harmony - Music Theory
Many musicians have received a grounding in writing harmony in four parts but very few have received help in relation to writing in five parts. This music theory lesson, as a first step, takes a passage of four part harmony and explains...
Music Matters
Are you able to identify these intervals? - Music Theory
Are you able to identify these intervals? Do you know your major intervals from your minor intervals or your augmented intervals from your diminished intervals? Are you able to identify intervals accurately in different clefs? Here’s...
Music Matters
Orchestration & Writing for Strings - The Cello
A detailed look at the cello and how best to write for it. The Cello is one of the most expressive and versatile instruments in the orchestra and this orchestration video illustrates the various dimensions of Cello capability across a...
Two Minute Music Theory
Making the Alto Clef Make Sense
The Alto Clef can be very foreign to musicians. Some might even call it scary. So, today let's try to unpack the Alto Clef and maybe Demystify it just a little.
Music Matters
Piano for Beginners Lesson 1 - Hand Shape, Playing Position, the Keyboard & Middle C
In this video you will discover how to sit at the piano, and the layout of the piano keyboard will be explained so you know the pattern of the keys enabling you to find notes easily. The musical alphabet (A-G) is explained and you’ll...
Music Matters
How to Realize Simple Figured Bass - Music Theory
How to realize and read diatonic chords in figured bass and how to play a short passage from a figured bass. This music theory lesson explains the figured bass system in relation to all the diatonic chords in root position, first...